Thomas Markle Says He Found Out About Meghan Giving Birth To Lilibet "On The Radio"

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry welcomed their second child, a daughter named Lilibet “Lili” Diana, in early June and announced the exciting news just a few days later. But while the couple gave the queen a call beforehand, Meghan’s estranged father, Thomas Markle, claimed he heard about baby Lilibet’s birth on the radio. Surprising, right?

Meghan’s father appeared on 60 Minutes Australia where he revealed that he wasn’t personally informed when his daughter gave birth for a second time on Friday, June 4. “I found out after the fact, and I have to deal with that, that’s OK,” he said during the interview, adding that he heard about the news from listening to the news on the radio.

Baby Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, whose own personal nickname is Lilibet. Archie’s little sister’s name also pays tribute to Meghan’s mom Doria Ragland. And although he’s not close to his daughter these days, Thomas Markle said “Lili is a perfect name.” He added in the same interview, “The other thing that makes me happy is that there is now a lot more Markle blood in the royal family.”

Meghan and her dad’s relationship has been strained since he did a series of interviews and photo shoots with the press ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry. He had released parts of a private letter written to him, from Meghan, to the press. He wasn’t at her wedding to Prince Harry and told 60 Minutes that he last spoke to his daughter two days before the wedding, while he was laying in a hospital bed after undergoing heart surgery.

During her revelatory interview with Oprah Winfrey in March, Meghan opened up about her attempts to communicate with her dad before her wedding. She alleged that she had offered to protect her father from the tabloids, but he refused to “tell her the truth” or accept their help. “I look at Archie, I think about this child, and I go, I genuinely can’t imagine doing anything to intentionally cause pain to my child,” she told Winfrey. “I can’t imagine it. So it’s hard for me to reconcile that.” Winfrey noted that Meghan’s mom was also hunted down by reporters but didn’t say “a word” about her daughter or her relationship. “She’s remained in silent dignity for four years, watching me go through this,” Meghan said.

In spite of reportedly not hearing from his daughter in two years, Thomas Markle said he hopes to meet and hold his two grandchildren one day. “All I can say is I hope to eventually, sometime see these grandchildren of mine because I’m a pretty good grandpa.”